by Hermann Hesse (1877 - 1962)
Translation © by Sharon Krebs

Italienische Nacht
 (Sung text for setting by R. Töpfer)
 See original
Language: German (Deutsch) 
Our translations:  CAT ENG FRE
Ich liebe solche bunt beglänzte Nächte
Im Flackerlicht der Lampen, und ich flechte
Gern meiner Lieder fiebernd Rot darein.
Sieh, Liebste, wie sich dort die Jugend drängt
Im späten Tanz, und wie für uns allein
Der Sichelmond im Rauch der Fackeln hängt.

 ... 

Sieh, meine Jugend war ein farbig Spiel,
Ein Tanz im Fieber, wild und ohne Ziel
Und schwand verknisternd wie ein Meteor.
Dann kreuzt' ich unstät durch die Welt und fand
Dem Haupt kein Lager, meinem Lied kein Ohr,
Und nur im Traum ein blasses Heimwehland.

Schau dort! Die heiße Menge wogt im Tanz
Und glüht vor Lust und wirft den Loderkranz
Der kurzen Freude jauchzend in die Lüfte.
Ist's doch, als spielte meine Jugend dort
Im süßen Rausch fremdländisch heißer Düfte
Das alte Spiel in neuen Tänzen fort.

 ...

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3-4 of the original text.

Composition:

    Set to music by Rudolf Töpfer (b. 1891), "Italienische Nacht", 1958, stanzas 1,3-4 [ baritone and string quartet ]

Text Authorship:

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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

  • CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2025, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • ENG English (Sharon Krebs) , "Italian night", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
  • FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2014-08-19
Line count: 30
Word count: 208

Language: English  after the German (Deutsch) 
I love such colourfully sparkling nights
In the flickering light of the lamps, and with gladness
I weave the feverish red of my songs therein.
See, beloved, how yonder the young folk throng
In a late dance, and how for us alone
The crescent moon hangs in the smoke of the torches.

 ... 

See, my youth was a colourful game,
A fevered dance, wild and without a goal
And, with a final crackle, it vanished like a meteor.
Then erratically I roamed through the world and found
No resting place for my head, no ear to listen to my songs,
And only in my dreams a pale land of homesickness.

See there!  The hot throng sways in the dance
And glows with rapture and tosses the flaming wreath
Of ephemeral happiness rejoicingly into the air.
It is as if there, in the sweet intoxication of hot scents from foreign lands,
My youth were continuing to play
The old game in new dances.

 ...

Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1,3-4 of the original text.

Text Authorship:

  • Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2014 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:

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This text was added to the website: 2014-08-19
Line count: 30
Word count: 258